Animal Ecology (Ekologi Hewan)

1. Animal Ecology(Ekologi Hewan) 3 SKS / 4314-2-1962

2. Ecology • The science of the study of the relationships between living things and their environment • The environment could be: • Biotic = other species • Nonbiological (abiotic) = physical, chemical, geographical, geological factors

3. Ecology The study of the distribution and abundance of organisms. Charles Elton, Animal Ecology 1927

4. Ecology The scientific study of the relationships between organisms and their environments. E. Haeckel, 1865

5. Ecology The study of the flows of energy and materials between abiotic and biotic components of ecosystems. Chapin, Mooney and Matson, 2002

6. Ecology is The study of the distribution and abundance of organisms, AND the flows of energy and materials between abiotic and biotic components of ecosystems.

7. Ecosystem Ecosystem = community (all biotic) & physical environment (all abiotic)

8. Ecological sciences • General ecology • Animal ecology, plant ecology, microbial ecology • Environmental science • Environmental protection and management • Hydrobiology (water ecosystems) • Limnology (freshwater ecosystems) • Environmental geology and geography

9. Applications of Animal Ecology • Medical ecology • Preventive medicine (hygiene) • Toxicology • Medical parasitology • Medical microbiology • Veteriner

10. Basic ecological terms

11. Population • A group of individuals of the same species living in the same area or interbreeding and sharing genetic information. Population of species A Population of species B

12. Ecosystem • Ecosystem = community (all biotic) & physical environment (all abiotic) • Biological community and nonbiological factors • It must include: • An autotroph • A decomposer • A source of energy • All the chemical elements required by the autotroph and the decomposer

13. Population of species A Population of species B Population of species C Ecosystem Abiotic factors Community

14. Habitat Habitat = any part of the Earth where a species can live, temporarily or permanently = organism’s physical surroundings = where an organism lives

15. Ecological Niche Ecological Niche = functional role of a species in the community, including habitat, activities & relationships = what an organism does, its occupation

16. Food web (trophic „chain“) Secodary consumers (carnivores) Solar energy Primary consumers (herbivores) Producers (green plants, algae, autotrophic bacteria) Decay of organic matter Release of inorganic nutrients Decomposers (heterotrophic bacteria, fungi)

17. Main Structural Components of an Ecosystem Abiotic chemicals (carbon dioxide, oxygen, nitrogen, minerals) Heat Solar energy Heat Heat Producers (plants) Decomposers bacteria, fungi) Consumers (herbivores, carnivores) Heat Heat

18. Energy flow within food web Biomass of secondary consumers Loss of energy Loss of energy Biomass of primary consumers Biomass of producers

19. What is productivity? Productivity: growth rate of all living things Primary productivity: growth rate of producers Solar energy converted to organic matter (biomass) Stored in living organisms All organisms depend on primary producers for their energy supply Usually measured as grams of carbon per square meter Primary production is consumed, converted to detritus, or accumulated in biomass

20. What controls productivity? “Limiting factors” - Too much or too little of any abiotic factor can limit or prevent growth of a population Predators: grazers Every part of the food web will have different controls What could be a limiting factor in the Limboto lake?

21. Interspecific relations

22. See you next week! Individual assignment on Interspecific relations!